Hot Topics:

Cuomo OKs roof, other upgrades at US Open complex

The Associated Press

Posted:
09/06/2013 01:14:16 PM EDT

ALBANY, N.Y.—Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he has signed legislation enabling the expansion of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the upgrades will include putting a retractable roof on the U.S. Open's center court.

Cuomo says Friday that the legislation provides for a nearly 1-acre boundary expansion of the entire complex and the return to the city's parks department of 1.5 acres for public recreational use.

U.S. Tennis Association officials announced last month that the Open's center court, Arthur Ashe Stadium, will be covered by a retractable roof no later than the 2017 tournament. Rain had pushed the men's final from Sunday to Monday each of the past five years.

The project, to be paid for by the USTA, includes more tennis courts at the Queens complex and other improvements.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story

Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell" (Asthmatic Kitty) Plucked strings and pulsing keyboards dominate the distinctive arrangements on Sufjan Stevens' latest album, and in the absence of a rhythm section, they serve to keep time. Full Story